by Nancy Armour, USA TODAY Sports

Twelve years after a young Donovan led the U.S. on an improbable run to the quarterfinals of the 2002 World Cup, the Americans have progressed to the point where there's no room on the roster for sentimentality. Not even for the best player the Americans have ever produced, a man who's become as symbolic of U.S. soccer as red, white and blue scarves and fuzzy Uncle Sam hats.

U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann gave little explanation for why he left Donovan off his 23-man roster. Klinsman didn't say whether the nagging knee injury that has cost the 32-year-old Donovan an extra gear - and likely would have reduced him to a bench player - made him simply too big a risk, even if he is the Americans' leading scorer.

Instead, Klinsmann simply dropped the roster and ran. His only comments Thursday night came on a video released by U.S. Soccer about 90 minutes after the roster announcement.

"I just see some other players slightly ahead of him," Klinsmann said. "I have to make the decisions, what is good today for this group going into Brazil, and I just think that the other guys right now are a little bit ahead of him."

That left conspiracy theorists to flood the Internet. A classless tweet by Klinsmann's son that appeared to taunt Donovan, and was quickly deleted, didn't help matters.

Yes, Klinsmann and Donovan have had a complicated relationship. Donovan was a free spirit long before he took his sabbatical from the U.S. team and the Los Angeles Galaxy, and that's just not something Klinsmann can understand.

But Klinsmann is practical, if nothing else. He'll put anybody on his roster - and the field - who he thinks will give him a better team. Look back to last summer. Klinsmann gave Donovan the cold shoulder following his four-month break, leaving him off the roster for three World Cup qualifiers and saying Donovan would need to earn his way back onto the team.

The snub was short-lived. Klinsmann brought the rejuvenated Donovan back for the Gold Cup, and he responded with five goals as the Americans won the title. When the Americans resumed World Cup qualifying in the fall, Donovan was firmly back in the fold. It was his corner kick, in fact, that set up the goal against Mexico that would secure the Americans' spot in Brazil.

But soccer, like every other sport, is cruelly indifferent to legacies, caring only about the here and now. And there have been troubling signs for months that Donovan was not the player he was last summer, let alone four years ago.

Klinsmann left him on the bench for last month's exhibition against Mexico, saying the knee injury had hindered him in practice. Donovan also got off to a slow start with the Galaxy, and has yet to score a goal.

"For me personally I sort of liken it to 2002," Donovan said earlier this week. "In 2006 and 2010, I knew for the most part that, unless I was awful, I was going to make the team. This time is more similar to 2002, where I wasn't sure."

It feels wrong for someone who has done so much for U.S. soccer to be sent off with a press release that didn't even mention his name, and he deserves every bit of the angst that Thursday night's announcement prompted. He should go out with his boots on, preferably while taking a victory lap around a field somewhere in Brazil.

That, however, would cheapen Donovan's legacy.

Donovan took his fair share of criticism over the years. He was derided for the homesickness that made him flee Europe, and blamed for the early U.S. exit in 2006. But he took soccer mainstream in the U.S., playing the game with a style and flair American fans had never seen - not by someone in their uniform, at least.

"It has been an honor and privilege to have represented the US National Team in three World Cups," Donovan posted on Facebook after the announcement. "I was looking forward to playing in Brazil and, as you can imagine, I am very disappointed with today's decision.

"Regardless, I will be cheering on my friends and teammates this summer, and I remain committed to helping grow soccer in the US in the years to come."

When he scored against Algeria four years ago to put the U.S. into the knockout round, the celebrations could be heard from South Africa to Southern California. Major League Soccer is thriving, U.S. fans can rattle off standings in England, Italy and Spain, and the U.S. men's talent pool is deeper than it's ever been.

That's all thanks to Landon Donovan.

Whether he deserved a spot in Brazil or not is an argument that will go on for weeks. But no one can question the good he's done for the U.S. game.